What preps are you doing this week? part 2.

[Stasher]

[quote=

Silica gel sachets are expensive. You can get silica cat litter for next to nothing - exactly the same thing (Home Bargains has it for peanuts). Make up your own sachets (some people use coffee filters - I've been making my own up with left over fabric, but prepared to experiment). The gel crystals can be dried out, eg on top of a radiator, and used again and again. I have two large bags and hardly making a dent in them - they'll last a long time, whereas the last time I spent a lot of money on sachets, they seemed to get used up in no time.

Here endeth the lesson from Granny Grayhip .

That's a fantastic tip, thanks Feisty, I shall be scampering out to get some later today along with a large number of fruit tins as no ones told me they'd been eating them........................

[FEISTY]

Glad it's helpful. Just had a thought that, if you really want to cut the cost to next to nothing, you could use the feet of any old (clean) tights filled with the crystals (as much or as little as you need) and tied with thread or whatever you have (don't use elastic bands, 'cos they degrade within a year or two). As long as any moisture can get to the gel, it'll work. No-one but you will see these make-shift moisture absorbers, protecting your preps in the shed or garage, so what does it matter what they look like and it's quicker than sewing little bags (like I'm doing, but those are for the house ). Gawd, I knew that drawer full of tights I never wear would come in handy !

[jansman]

Today is the first day I have felt well in weeks. Turned the corner with the pneumonia. I completed the wooden log stores thanks to chainsaw, chopsaw and nailgun. It will tidy the garden a treat. Got a load of crap to burn off, and once that is done I shall start laying the base for our Summerhouse. This will not just be a leisure area (although that is it's primary intention)but also alternative housing in an emergency. A work in progress.

[Deeps]

I've done nothing for ages due to getting a new job and going from weekly to monthly pay so been living off our preps till pay day at the end of the month it's been a long 6 weeks. Only good thing is new job a huge pay rise more than time and a half what I was getting plus I make my own hours as much extra work as I want. As we have been using up the preps I have noticed some of the tins from the shed have a few rust spots so I will be looking at sealing up the door a bit better but also want to get some plastic boxes to put the tins in any suggestions. I will be glad to get away from tinned food but so glad we had the stock its made this time that much easier.

Silica gel sachets are expensive. You can get silica cat litter for next to nothing - exactly the same thing (Home Bargains has it for peanuts). Make up your own sachets (some people use coffee filters - I've been making my own up with left over fabric, but prepared to experiment). The gel crystals can be dried out, eg on top of a radiator, and used again and again. I have two large bags and hardly making a dent in them - they'll last a long time, whereas the last time I spent a lot of money on sachets, they seemed to get used up in no time.

For all the folk who have camping gear, etc, if it gets a bit smelly (my daughter once borrowed a Scout rucksack once and it was fusty from the damp conditions) the only thing that will take that away is plain vinegar. Just either fill the bath (or bucket if it a smaller thing) with warm water and a cup or more of vinegar and soak for a while, then wash/rinse. The vinegar smell will go and so will the fusty smell, because the vinegar will have killed the mould spores (even if you can't see mould, you can smell it) without the damage that bleach causes. Then always dry out things thoroughly before storing in a sealed container with a large bag of silica gel.

Here endeth the lesson from Granny Grayhip .

Good shout on the use of vinegar, I didn't know about this, Her Maj used it to do the windows though. As an aside Feisty, I'm not sure our 'celticly challenged' neighbours will ken what fusty is.

[Hamradioop]

fusty is quite common use in Wessex

[ForgeCorvus]

fusty is quite common use in Wessex

Ditto Norfolk.

[Deeps]

fusty is quite common use in Wessex

Ditto Norfolk.

Apologies, I've always taken it as a Scottish word. I'll get me coat.

[Deeps]

Today I've just opened a Frey Bentos pie (just for practice you understand ) with one of these.

[urlhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Survival-Tool-Emergenc ... +tool+card][/url]

It was a bit of a ball ache but doable, it might be easier with gloves on or the like because it was fair digging into my hands. I'm glad I gave it shot though, I've been meaning to do it for ages, I'm a dab hand with the can opener on a Swiss Army knife but this was a bit trickier.

I'm counting this as prep practice though as opposed to a 'naughty' lunch.

[izzy_mack]

Ok know it's a short month but where the hell did it go? So many good intentions, nothing done, so to prevent it being a total waste of a month in the prep diary, I rushed out and bought some food. Sugar at lidl 49p so got 12kgs. 2ltrs oil, 4 boxes teabags, tins beans, butter beans and taco beans, gravy grans. dried peas for soups, jars of sauces, pasta. And to make me feel a bit better took an hour out this morning to start a crochet blanket using the odd bits of wool left from previous handicrafts.

Promise to be better organised and more productive next month - honest

[jansman]

Bathroom light went wrong again. We had a rewire a couple of years ago,and the sparky fitted a long life square bulb( 'lamp ' he corrected me!) and it has been nothing but trouble. Well, today he fitted an LED panel. Effin Ell ! What a difference!
This week's preps, a trip to the electrical wholesaler to get LED 'lamps' for the whole house.